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The ending of this post (lots of cheap knock-offs exist after someone finds a good idea) shows the challenges of designing a hardware product. Just having a co

The ending of this post (lots of cheap knock-offs exist after someone finds a good idea) shows the challenges of designing a hardware product. Just having a cool idea, ie screw-tent-stake, isn't good enough because even if you were able to get a patent there is no way you could slow the tide of cheap knock-off copy-cats. I believe hardware is still a great opportunity though, you just need to integrate the hardware into a bigger business plan. Have a family of products, software/firmware component, subscription model, etc.

chii 6y ago
The thing is that intellectual property can only be enforced for so long (if it's even enforcible). The wheel is a great invention - but nobody got paid for it! If the cheap chinese knockoff works just as well, then the value proposition of your more expensive production method just isn't justifiable to the end consumer. If the knockoffs don't work well, then you have a business case (to educate your customers).
- yarcob 6y ago
  The problem is that the chinese knockoffs don't work as well, don't even look similar, but are advertised by fraudsters with marketing materials stolen from the original product. This is not a case of someone making a cheaper version, this is someone defrauding customers.
- bellyfullofbac 6y ago
  The way the article ends is very odd. If you click on the link about the scam products, you can see a pic of the imitation screws, and they don't even have the hole/handle on top, nor the pipe, to be used to screw the thing in. The article could've highlighted this and then (since it's apparently an ad piece) end with "So to make sure you get the functionality you want, buy at the official blahblah online store."...
starky 6y ago
Exactly, I work on the mechanical hardware side of tech. I've long said that any company making physical products in the consumer space has to have something proprietary that cannot be easily copied, typically a software ecosystem. It doesn't help that $7 for a piece of molded plastic that size is absolutely insane. Of course someone is going to copy it when they can make a good profit selling it for half the price in a country where you have no chance of defending your patents against copycats.

chii 6y ago

The thing is that intellectual property can only be enforced for so long (if it's even enforcible). The wheel is a great invention - but nobody got paid for it! If the cheap chinese knockoff works just as well, then the value proposition of your more expensive production method just isn't justifiable to the end consumer. If the knockoffs don't work well, then you have a business case (to educate your customers).

yarcob 6y ago
The problem is that the chinese knockoffs don't work as well, don't even look similar, but are advertised by fraudsters with marketing materials stolen from the original product. This is not a case of someone making a cheaper version, this is someone defrauding customers.
bellyfullofbac 6y ago
The way the article ends is very odd. If you click on the link about the scam products, you can see a pic of the imitation screws, and they don't even have the hole/handle on top, nor the pipe, to be used to screw the thing in. The article could've highlighted this and then (since it's apparently an ad piece) end with "So to make sure you get the functionality you want, buy at the official blahblah online store."...

starky 6y ago

Exactly, I work on the mechanical hardware side of tech. I've long said that any company making physical products in the consumer space has to have something proprietary that cannot be easily copied, typically a software ecosystem. It doesn't help that $7 for a piece of molded plastic that size is absolutely insane. Of course someone is going to copy it when they can make a good profit selling it for half the price in a country where you have no chance of defending your patents against copycats.